Tag Archives: Netflix

I started the first season last week, got four episodes in and got busy with other stuff but I finally finished the series thanks to the Target Exclusive Blu-Ray DVD combo pack.

By now everyone has seen the mock-up VHS case that holds all four disc. You also get a poster of the Demogorgon with Stranger Things written in the center. Now let’s talk extras… There isn’t any. Pretty much every Netflix home video release are bare bones. One reason I haven’t picked up Daredevil. But this Stranger Things VHS made up for the lack of extras for me, sure interviews with the Duffer brothers would’ve been nice. No extras aside, it’s still worth a buy.

The highlight for me for Daredevil Season 2 was the new vision of The Punisher. We had up till then 3 big screen versions of the deranged vigilante but none seemed to really connect with audiences. Many claimed they had softened up the character too much to reach a broad audience. For me when I heard him utter “You hit them they get back up. I hit them and they stay down.” I knew they had found the right tone for the character. It was no surprise Frank Castle would end up with his own Netflix series. We’ve seen a few teaser trailers but today the full length trailer hit the internet. It’s exactly what I wanted from a Punisher show. The Metallica music gets the tone perfect. What do you think?

While hurricane Harvey was making rounds all over Texas I got a chance to watch CheckPoint (2017) on Netflix. Might I say it’s action packed with an all star cast like Bill Goldberg, Kane Hodder, Tyler Mane, and some gal named Krista Grotte. Yea, don’t know her either.

The movie starts off with an awesome fight scene between Roy (Kenny Johnson) and Brick (John Lewis) but come to find out that scene takes place towards the end of the movie! Talk about a cold open. Gotta keep those movie goers entertained.

The plot to this movie isn’t so believable, in a small town in Port City, North Carolina a group of former military men and women get together to take over a small town and eventually the world. But all that falls apart when Roy, a homeless veteran finds out about some of the local higher up taking control of Port City. But no one believes him! Not even his own brother TJ who is played by former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Bill Goldberg. He also drives a motorcycle by night and by day he’s a UPS/FedEx driver, and a dad… Plus he likes to hit on his daughter’s teachers. But that’s not even the cool part, just when you think Goldberg is gonna spear a guy, said guy gets shot. At least give me a jackhammer finish.

Kane Hodder is in this movie too as a hit man it’s a small role but he gets the job done until he gets done in, yea plot twist. This would make a good drinking movie. Take a drink when the camera is out of focus or when a serious moment is playing out and the camera starts getting all shaky. Get yourself steadicam.

Other than having former WCW United States Champion Bill Goldberg in this movie, the soundtrack is fantastic! If you like Lynyrd Skynyrd you will love this movie. Because Simple Man doesn’t play less than three times throughout this movie. Dollars to donuts the budget to CheckPoint went to getting the rights to Simple Man.

A few high points from CheckPoint is seeing Roy get shot by a bazooka and still alive and in one piece. Another bad guy shoots down a flagpole with the US flag hanging from it, flagpole just falls over, but Goldberg and his lady teacher friend who is also military with an awesome shaved head on one side picks up the flagpole and puts it back in said hole so the flag can you know do flag stuff.

Overall I give CheckPoint one star because it has Goldberg in it and it’s a cheesy action movie. Thanks to The Massive One’s good friend Rafael for turning me on to this modern day classic.

The TARDIS appears in a hallway, the Doctor steps out and rushes to a locked door, hoping it’s not too late. He pulls out a sonic screwdriver from his coat pocket, click goes the lock. Door opens to find Hannah looking into a mirror.

Who are you? I’m the Doctor. Doctor who? Just the Doctor. Hannah, I know what you are about to do and I’m here to show you a future with you in it. Hannah agrees to go with the Doctor, as they walk toward the TARDIS she says, is that a police telephone box from like the 1950’s? More 60’s era.

The Doctor opens the TARDIS’ door and told Hannah to step in. She did with the Doctor following behind. So it’s bigger on the inside… Yes, you see… Hannah stops the Doctor in mid sentence. I know how this works. Imagine fitting a big cube into a much smaller cube. The Doctor looked baffled, okay then… So! Your future, seven years down the road where do you see yourself? Why do you have so many fezzes hanging from the ceiling? Because fezzes are… Seven years? I don’t know. Well, let’s find out. Hang on! As the Doctor shifts gears and knobs on his console the TARDIS begins to disappear.

The TARDIS lands outside a long gated neighborhood. Where are we? Like I said, seven years into the future. But before we go out take one of these. What is it? It’s a disguise pill. I can still see you, you can see yourself in a mirror but the great thing is, others will see someone else. It’s like the time Clara and I went to the Church of the Silence to meet Mother Superious and we were both naked. Hum… Okay.

The Doctor and Hannah stepped out of the TARDIS to a bright sunny day in a nice and wealthy looking neighborhood. The Doctor pulls his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket points it into the air. What are you doing? I’m looking for directions. Once the screwdriver started beeping the Doctor gave it a look and said, this way!

They both walk up to a two story home. Nice house, wonder who lives here? Let’s see. The Doctor knocked a couple times. As the door opens Hannah recognizes the face… It was Clay Jensen. Hi, can I help you? Yes, I’m the Doctor and this is, hum, Emma. We were hoping you could help us find Hannah Barker. Well, sir… Hannah committed suicide six years ago… She couldn’t have. I’m afraid she did… Why do you need her? The Doctor still in shock, Emma spoke up, she was a childhood friend before I moved. Sorry I couldn’t help you. The Doctor shakes it off. We must be going, thanks for your help. As they both walk back to the TARDIS, the Doctor is trying to figure out why this is happening. Why didn’t the future change?

As they step back in the blue box the Doctor pulls out his screwdriver scans Hannah and plugs it into the console. Doctor, I’m sorry but there is no future for me. There has to be, I gotta find out why. Ding! Ding! It’s ready! As the Doctor pulls out his sonic screwdriver, he looks at the monitor to see the words he always disliked. Hannah heard him say them under his breath, what did you say? Fixed Point in Time… Hannah, I’m so, so sorry. It’s okay Doctor. You tried to help but with me gone the future will be so much brighter… How is that possible? You’ll see Doctor.

It’s time to take me back. With a flip of a switch the TARDIS is back in the same hallway where it appeared not even a second later. Before Hannah left the TARDIS she gave the Doctor a hug and told him everything will be okay. As Hannah stepped out the TARDIS started to fade away… The Doctor sitting at the console weeping wanting to know why, why will it be okay?

A week later the Doctor shows back up walks into a pharmacy store. Anything I can help you with? The Doctor looks up to see Mr. Baker behind the counter and just behind him a picture of Hannah. Just the news paper. Seventy five cents. Here’s a dollar, keep the change. As the Doctor walks out reading the headline, Bryce Walker, Life in Prison. As the Doctor read his paper at the park. He sees why Hannah had to take her own life. So people like Jessica Davis wouldn’t have to go through what her and Hannah experienced. And for people like Bryce Walker to never hurt anyone again.

After watching 13 Reasons Why I thought about what would the Doctor from Doctor Who do in that kind of storytelling. He would try to help in every way he knew how. So I came up with Doctor, Welcome To Your Tape. It took me a couple days to get the story where I wanted it to go but once I wrote it down I knew I had something. Over a couple weeks I hashed it out with help from Sometime Co-Host Mike, giving me advice and pointers. I wrote a couple different drafts but decided to keep my first draft as the story I want to share. I usually don’t write fan-fic, if you will… But I did. Enjoy.

Marvel, Stranger Things, 13 Reasons Why, Santa Clarita Diet, Mystery Science Theater 3000, it seems that Netflix is suddenly becoming the go to media empire for sheer awesome, so how do you follow up a string of successes like that? Well, they bring back the Queen of 80’s Thievery, Carmen Sandiego.

Little is known about the show at this stage except that it will be animated and will follow closer to the legendary edutainment games from the 80’s. However they do have decades of material to pull from from animated shows, game shows and chose your own adventure books.

The Tracking Board is also reporting that Netflix has signed none other than Jane The Virgin’s Gina Rodriguez to voice the globe hopping, landmark pilfering master criminal herself.

Jesus-Jumped-Up-Joseph, Netflix! When the hell did you start going so right?

I admit that I bounce my subscriptions between Netflix and Hulu depending on the TV season, but with Netflix’s newest marathon-able sitcom, Santa Clarita Diet, it has earned a full time sub from me.

If you have been living under a rock, Santa Clarita Diet is the new Drew Barrymore half hour sitcom vehicle, but with a horror twist, and unlike Ash Vs Evil Dead, which, yes is very funny, Diet takes is subject matter with total heart, and human hearts.

Drew Barrymore stars as Sheila Hammond, a real estate agent who works along side her husband Joel (Timothy Olyphant). One morning she wakes up dead, only to find out that, like a zombie is want to do, craves raw, human flesh. Olyphant is her doting husband who tries to desperately to keep his suburban life as normal as possible while dealing with the fact that he and his wife must now start killing people to keep her fed.

As this is a prelim review, I am only up to episode 4 of the season, which is still early in the process but I have to say this. When it comes to comedy, im a silent laugher. Im a smiler, a chuckler and Santa Clarita Diet has had me laughing hysterically during each episode.

Barrymore is amazing as she begins to accept her new lifestyle contrasted with Olyphant’s put upon, neurotic husband who is trying desperately to control his wife’s impulses while being the supportive and loving husband and father.

And with a revolving cast of supporting characters and cameos, both love-able and despise-able, this is one of the best acted and tonally perfected shows I have seen outside of the Marvel/DC TV shows in a good long while. Netflix, you’ve scored a new winner!

A little while ago, in a city within driving distance of my home, I met David Prowse –the one and true Darth Vader– for upwards of a minute after I paid either him or his handler the mandated $15 for an autographed picture. There is photographic proof of this encounter somewhere. Of course I knew who he was, but frankly at the time, I was more excited to meet Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew and of course, Ray Park, whose face was on my undergarment at the time of meeting him…full if not completely unnecessary disclosure.

I digress.

My point being any Star Wars fan worth their salt knows who David Prowse is. That he spends almost every weekend (according to the documentary) at a con or fan festival does nothing but further reinforce this fact.

So why I Am Your Father feels as though it needs to redeem the man behind the most recognizable mask in the known world had me curious. And with Rogue One less than a month away, I gave it a shot.

The documentary itself has a few thesis points that it wants to make. Questions they want answered are: Who is David Prowse the man? Why wasn’t his the face we saw at the end of Jedi? Did Lucasfilm wrong him? Who or what is the…ahem…”force” responsible for David Prowse not yet receiving an invitation to any of the official Star Wars Celebrations?

Writer/Directors Toni Bestard and Marcos Cabota do their best to answer these questions along the way while trying to build up the mystery of whether or not David Prowse will be part of the unmasking Vader scene re-shoot.

I’m not sure how I feel about the overall success of their mission. Yes, they fill in the blanks to all the questions they want answered (to the best ability of anyone willing to talk to them) , and SPOILER ALERT: Mr. Prowse totally agrees to be in the re-shoot, but the whole thing feels a little scattershot in the end. As though they’re telling you the story first hand, but keep going off on tangents before getting back to their focus, and “oh but also we forgot this part which may or may not be relevant by the end”.
The filmmakers say they wanted to give back recognition to him for his contribution to the Star Wars legacy. With the exception of the official Star Wars cons snubbing and infamously being replaced as Anakin by Sebastian Shaw, I personally don’t see where he isn’t getting it, even within the doc itself.

Yes, there seems to be a still open wound inside of him about his face and voice being switched that just doesn’t want to heal. And yes,maybe the filmmakers want to help repair that by re-shooting the final scene and showing it to a small group of people, but end of the day, if you’re holding on to a grudge for THAT many years, will re-shooting that scene with new actors only to be viewed by a handful of people ever really fix you?

It’s an interesting watch as it gives you a brief recap of his life and career (I took special joy in finding out that his wife considers Star Wars to be an intrusion on their life together…even HIS marriage isn’t immune). The film itself doesn’t give any big reveals to Star Wars buffs who might be looking for extra behind the scenes details. Also, due to rights, you never actually see all of the finished re-shoot. Still, I’ve spent an hour and a half doing much worse things. (Looking at you Episode I.)